resources-whitepapers-health-and-well-being

WORKPLACE WELL-BEING Provide Meaningful Benefits to Energize Employee Health, Engagement, and Performance Sponsored by: limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 1.888.415.8302 Workplace Well-Being ABOUT THE AUTHORS Natalie Hackbarth Engagement Content Coordinator | Quantum Workplace With a background in journalism and mass communications, Natalie partners with engagement experts and research analysts to create informative resources that you can leverage to increase employee engagement Leveraging the health and wellness research, Natalie pinpointed 10 areas of opportunity for employers, as well as best practices for linking your wellness program to employee engagement Aaron Brown Research Analyst | Quantum Workplace Aaron analyzes and presents complex engagement data in a way that’s meaningful and easy to understand As one of Quantum Workplace’s research analysts, Aaron crunched the data for nearly 2,000 health and wellness surveys and provided analytical insight on how health and wellness benefits impact employee engagement Henry Albrecht CEO | Limeade Henry founded Limeade in 2006 and has led the company from an idea in his basement to a high-growth, industry-leading SaaS health, well-being, and performance improvement company Leveraging his expertise in wellness programs’ positive impact on engagement and performance, Henry contributed rules for implementing a successful well-being program and a relevance quiz for employers limeade.com quantumworkplace.com Workplace Well-Being CONTENTS INTRODUCTION THE IMPACT OF HEALTH AND WELL-BEING BENEFITS ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT 13 14 16 21 27 31 36 41 WHAT DO EMPLOYEES WANT? 10 Rules for Implementing a Program Financial Benefits Stress Management & Emotional Health Benefits Nutritional Benefits Physical Fitness Benefits Physical Health Benefits Work-Life Benefits 47 10 AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY 59 IS YOUR WELL-BEING PROGRAM RELEVANT? 63 ANALYZING BENEFITS AND ENGAGEMENT: MAKING THE LINK IN YOUR ORGANIZATION 64 CONCLUSION limeade.com quantumworkplace.com Workplace Well-Being INTRODUCTION Employee engagement is a crucial element in every organization; it drives productivity, profitability, and business success Although crucial, it can be one of the most difficult workplace elements to understand and improve Quantum Workplace defines employee engagement using a three-part model: PREACH PURSUE PLAN Preach, or employee advocacy, refers to the degree to which employees speak highly of their workplace Plan, or intent to stay, refers to employees’ interest in remaining at the organization Pursue, or discretionary effort, refers to employees’ drive to put forth extra effort 10 FACTORS THAT DRIVE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Teamwork Manager Effectiveness Trust in Senior Leaders Trust with Coworkers Many factors impact employee engagement Our traditional model examines the 10 core drivers on the left Retention Alignment with Goals Feeling Valued Individual Contribution Job Satisfaction 10 Benefits limeade.com quantumworkplace.com Workplace Well-Being Benefits: Most uncertain survey category for the last three years Employee engagement research over the last three years shows that employees have the most neutral or unfavorable perceptions about benefits This is concerning to many organizations that invest in employee benefits At the end of the day, employee benefits are critical to competing as an employer Wondering what health and well-being benefits would be most impactful to employee engagement, we partnered with Limeade to conduct this study Here are some of the findings: When employees believe their employer cares about their health and well-being, they are… 38% more 17% more likely to still be working there in 1 year engaged 28% more likely to recommend their workplace 18% more likely to go the extra mile for the organization 10X less likely to be hostile This ebook leverages employee perceptions to help educate employers on how to create and maintain a benefits program to increase employee health, productivity, and engagement limeade.com quantumworkplace.com THE IMPACT OF HEALTH AND WELL-BEING BENEFITS ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Workplace Well-Being Employee Engagement Profiles Before we analyze how health and well-being benefits impact employee engagement, we must first define our employee engagement profiles In the analysis, employees responded to an engagement survey using a 6-point Likert scale Based on the average of their answers, without factoring in skipped questions, they were placed in one of four groups: Engaged, Contributing, Disengaged, and Hostile ENGAGED CONTRIBUTING Average Score: 5–6 Average Score: 4–4.9 Highly favorable Moderately favorable Preach organization love Holding back Plan to stay Opportunity for increased performance Pursue extra effort DISENGAGED HOSTILE Average Score: 3–3.9 Average Score: 1–2.9 Indifferent Negative Lack motivation Lack commitment At-risk for retention Impact others’ productivity limeade.com quantumworkplace.com Workplace Well-Being 5.2% 5.2% How Many Organizations Offer Health and Well-Being Benefits? Almost 90 percent of employees surveyed said their organization offers some type of health benefits Slightly more than five percent said they’re organization doesn’t offer benefits, and the other five percent were unsure 89.6% My organization does offer benefits My organization does not offer benefits I’m not sure Do Employees Have a Clear Understanding of the Benefits Offered? 11.9% Almost 12 percent of employees don’t have a clear understanding of the benefits their organization offers 88.1% I have a clear understanding of my benefits I don’t have a clear understanding of my benefits limeade.com quantumworkplace.com Workplace Well-Being Large Organizations Offer More Benefits The largest companies (10,000 employees or more) offered more benefits than any other size category When considering the average number of benefits provided, across all 31 items on the survey, the largest organizations were more than 20 percentage-points likely to provide each than organizations that had less than 250 employees Moreover, at least 10 percent of organizations with more than 5,000 employees offered each of the 31 benefits AVERAGE AMOUNT OF BENEFITS PROVIDED BY SIZE 54.0% 47.0% 38.8% 45.5% 40.8% 33.7% 1–250 251–500 501–1000 1001–5000 5001–10,000 10,000+ Employees at Large and Small Organizations Are Equally Satisfied With Benefits Regardless of size category, more than 70 percent of employees were satisfied with the amount of benefits they received EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION OF BENEFITS BY SIZE 72.0% 71.6% 71.8% 73.0% 73.6% 72.5% 1–250 251–500 501–1000 1001–5000 5001–10,000 10,000+ limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 10 Workplace Well-Being Employees Are More Engaged At Organizations That Provide Health and Well-Being Benefits On average, employees who said their organization provided health and well-being benefits were 11 percent more engaged than those that didn’t Organizations that provide benefits measure almost percent fewer hostile employees than those that don’t provide benefits Interestingly, the number of disengaged employees was similar at organizations regardless if they provided benefits or not However, when employees were unsure if they had benefits, they were almost twice as likely to be disengaged 5.6% 2.9% 5.8% 4.8% 2.9% 11.1% 21.5% 29.8% 25.9% 59.6% 61.1% 70.1% My organization offers benefits My organization does not offer benefits Engaged Contributing I’m not sure if my organization offers benefits Disengaged Hostile limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 51 Workplace Well-Being Healthy Cafeteria/Vending Options Healthy cafeteria/vending options give employees more access to healthy food at work Instead of having to plan and prepare healthy meals or snacks at home, this benefit gives employees access to the food they want Healthy cafeteria/vending options is an opportunity for employers because: 73.7% OF EMPLOYEES WANT healthy cafeteria/vending options VS 45.6% OF EMPLOYERS PROVIDE healthy cafeteria/vending options EMPLOYEES ARE 9.8% MORE ENGAGED when provided healthy cafeteria/vending options PRO TIP FIND OUT WHAT THEY WANT: Before you invest money and resources into healthy cafeteria and/or vending options, ask employees what they want Send out a list of the items you’re able or willing to provide, and ask employees to vote on the options they’d prefer limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 52 Workplace Well-Being Onsite Nutritionist An onsite nutritionist can consult with individuals or groups of employees right at the office Unlike general information on making healthy food choices, an onsite nutritionist is able to give employees information and recommendations based on their unique lifestyles and goals An onsite nutritionist is an opportunity for employers because: 44.6% OF EMPLOYEES WANT an onsite nutritionist VS 12.3% OF EMPLOYERS PROVIDE an onsite nutritionist EMPLOYEES ARE 5.1% MORE ENGAGED when provided an onsite nutritionist PRO TIP MAKE IT AVAILABLE: Create a schedule and sign-up sheet to make sure the onsite nutritionist is available to meet with every employee individually If schedules don’t allow that, organize group or all-company sessions where employees can opt to attend if they want limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 53 Workplace Well-Being Onsite Fitness Center An onsite fitness center gives employees the ability to work out at the office Its convenient location eliminates time wasted traveling to and from the fitness center, allowing employees to easily exercise before work, after work, or over their lunch break (Not to mention the money they’ll save on membership fees.) An onsite fitness center is an opportunity for employers because: 50.5% OF EMPLOYEES WANT an onsite fitness center VS 35.1% OF EMPLOYERS PROVIDE an onsite fitness center EMPLOYEES ARE 5.1% MORE ENGAGED when provided an onsite fitness center PRO TIP MAKE IT WORTH THE WHILE: If you’re going to invest in an onsite fitness center, make it a place employees will actually want to utilize At minimum, include basic exercise machines and free weights, and make the size of the fitness center proportional to the number of employees who will use it limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 54 Workplace Well-Being Time for Healthy Activities at Work Time for healthy activities at work gives employees the opportunity to boost their level of physical fitness in short bursts throughout the workday Healthy activities can include walks, yoga, or short individual challenges, like planks, push ups, or wall squats Time for healthy activities at work is an opportunity for employers because: 49.8% OF EMPLOYEES WANT time for healthy activities at work VS 23.2% OF EMPLOYERS PROVIDE time for healthy activities at work EMPLOYEES ARE 18.1% MORE ENGAGED when provided time for healthy activities at work PRO TIP MAKE IT OPTIONAL: If your organization sets aside time for healthy activities at work, give every employee the opportunity to participate in that activity—but don’t require it If employees want to something on their own, or choose not to participate at all, be careful not to make them feel like an outsider because of it limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 55 Workplace Well-Being Onsite Medical Onsite medical gives employees the ability to see the doctor at the office Its convenient location and maximum number of patients limits the amount of work employees will miss for doctor appointments (think commuting to and from hospital, sitting in the waiting room, waiting to hear results, etc.) Onsite medical is an opportunity for employers because: 27.9% OF EMPLOYEES WANT 21.7% OF EMPLOYERS PROVIDE VS onsite medical onsite medical EMPLOYEES ARE 1.6% MORE ENGAGED when provided onsite medical PRO TIP KEEP IT PRIVATE: Doctor visits are very personal events that most employees don’t want to share with their coworkers If you offer onsite medical, protect employee privacy by designating an area for visits, utilizing a third-party medical professional, and allowing employees to schedule their own appointments limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 56 Workplace Well-Being Flexible Hours While more commonly utilized by employees who don’t have to be available to customers during business hours, flexible hours give employees the freedom to manage their time in a way that works best for them When employees’ work and personal lives conflict, this benefit allows them to arrange their schedule in order to make personal commitments, while still putting in a full work week Flexible hours are an opportunity for employers because: 74.3% OF EMPLOYEES WANT 45.8% OF EMPLOYERS PROVIDE VS flexible hours flexible hours EMPLOYEES ARE 18.0% MORE ENGAGED when provided flexible hours PRO TIP DON’T MICROMANAGE: Offering flexible hours requires a great deal of trust in your employees Allow them to determine when they put in hours and trust that they’re working when they say they are Only investigate the time they’re putting in if you notice a performance issue.  limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 57 Workplace Well-Being 10 Work From Home / Work Remote This benefit gives employees the opportunity to work outside the office when necessary or on a full-time basis Instead of requiring all employees to work from a corporate office, organizations provide their employees with the equipment and resources they need to work from their house or a remote location Work from home/work remote is an opportunity for employers because: 70.9% OF EMPLOYEES WANT to work from home / work remote VS 32.1% OF EMPLOYERS PROVIDE to work from home / work remote EMPLOYEES ARE 14.0% MORE ENGAGED when provided the opportunity to work from home / work remote PRO TIP KEEP IN TOUCH: One disadvantage of a work from home or work remote benefit is the loss of contact from employee to employee or employee to manager Make an effort to increase personal touch — call instead of instant messaging and video chat instead of sending an email limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 58 Workplace Well-Being 11 BONUS! Communication of Benefits Just because an organization offers health and well-being benefits doesn’t mean employees will be more engaged Clearly communicating what benefits are available to employees — and the value of those benefits — is just as important as the benefits program itself in regards to employee engagement Clear communication of benefits is an opportunity for employers because: EMPLOYEES ARE 20.0% MORE ENGAGED when provided communication about benefits PRO TIP COMMUNICATE EVERYWHERE: To ensure your benefit offerings are communicated to every employee in a way they understand, utilize every mode of communication Hold an all-company meeting or video conference call, send an all-company email, send a personal letter in the mail, and offer to sit down oneon-one to discuss the details and answer any questions employees might have limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 59 Workplace Well-Being IS YOUR WELL-BEING PROGRAM RELEVANT? Now that you know what the average employee wants in his or her wellbeing package, it’s time decide what’s right for your organization Simply copying and pasting this report’s results into your own benefits plan won’t cut it You MUST create a custom approach that’s relevant to your organization’s culture and business goals Start by asking yourself this question: Is my program relevant to this organization’s culture and mission? To help answer this question, Limeade created a quiz limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 60 Workplace Well-Being 10 CATEGORIES OF HEALTH & WELL-BEING RELEVANCE Below are 10 types of relevance When going through your relevance quiz on page 63, score your program (1-3 points) for each category, and then find your total The Important Basics BEHAVIORAL: Does it recognize that people are not just bundles of health risks, but sentient, emotional beings capable of change? Does it use the best improvement ideas from the science of behavior change, gaming, and behavioral economics? PREDICTIVE: Does it predict outcomes you care about in statistically meaningful and significant ways? Is it built using robust assessment design methodologies? Do you gather population-wide insights you can act on? MEDICAL: Would the CDC, NIH and their ilk approve? Does it apply best practice risk scoring and stratification? Is it reviewed by experts not just in disease-care – but in prevention, health promotion, chronic disease avoidance, health benefits design, and the intersection between health and human capital? limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 61 Workplace Well-Being The Essential Human Factors PERSONAL: Does it antagonize your people – or treat them like people? Is it in tune with what matters to you? Does it ASK you what you want – or does it TELL you what it wants you to to save someone else money? Does it make you think – and act if you are ready? SOCIAL: Do your friends like to talk about it on their walks to lunch? Does your spouse chime in? Can you talk about it at a sports game, at a church or a bar? Does it change and reinforce social behaviors and norms? ORGANIZATIONAL: Is it connected at its core to organizational and human capital goals (or is it a ‘benefits only’ thing)? Is it connected with the way you attract and retain top performers and keep them psyched and growing? Does it reinforce a culture of performance and profit growth? CULTURAL: Does it connect with the ethos of the city, the region, the country? Does it match the vibe of your market? The Business Essentials BENEFITS ECOSYSTEM: Does it connect benefit programs, interventions and communications in a cohesive way? Does it fluidly connect not just the data, but the user experience? Is it core connective tissue – like a central nervous system – or just “one more vendor to manage?” FINANCIAL: Does it factor into how you address the 17 percent of costs we as employers (and as a country) spend on health benefits? Does it connect individual agency with meaningful incentives across a multivendor, complex system of employee goodies? Is it lowcost and high-value? STRATEGIC: Is well-being tied directly to one of the top strategic goals of the company? Is it an imperative to have employees with the energy, health, and sharpness to clear the high performance bar you set for them? limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 62 Workplace Well-Being YOUR SCORE SHEET Score your organization on the relevance of your health and well-being benefits RELEVANCE CATEGORIES IMPORTANCE x SUCCESS How important is each relevance driver? How is your wellness program doing? = Low; = Medium; = High = Poor; = Good; = Great BEHAVIORAL Does it recognize people are capable of change? PREDICTIVE Does it predict outcomes? MEDICAL Is it expert reviewed? PERSONAL Does it treat your people like people? SOCIAL Do people talk about it? ORGANIZATIONAL Does it connect with your market? CULTURAL Does it connect with your market? BENEFITS ECOSYSTEM = SCORE Importance x Success x = x = x = x = x = x = x = x = x = x = Is it cohesive? FINANCIAL Is it low-cost, high-value? STRATEGIC Is it tied to goals? If your score is below 45, it’s time to make a change Limeade can help! TOTAL: limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 63 Workplace Well-Being ANALYZING BENEFITS AND ENGAGEMENT: MAKING THE LINK IN YOUR ORGANIZATION How can you tell if your health and well-being program is impacting employee engagement? Below are four ways you can use your employee data to analyze the correlation between the benefits you offer and your employees’ engagement Compare your year-over-year results Use your annual employee engagement survey to determine if your benefits initiative is headed in the right direction Compare prior year’s results to results you collect after you’ve announced the new benefits program Ideally, you’ll see favorability of benefits increase and uncertainty decrease Add custom items to your standard employee engagement survey Dig deeper into your employees’ perceptions of the benefits they’re provided On your annual survey, ask open-ended and scaled questions to see if your program is working long-term to increase employee health, productivity, and engagement Administer pulse surveys Chances are, your new benefits program is going to need some tweaking Include questions about your program on regular pulse surveys to find out what employees like and don’t like, what’s working and what’s isn’t, and how you can improve the program to fit their needs Create advanced reports with custom demographics Create custom demographics (based on participation in specific health and well-being benefits) on your annual employee survey, so you can see how your benefits are impacting employee engagement (For example: Are employees who utilize your benefits package more engaged? Do employees who take stress-relief breaks feel less stressed? Are employees who utilize flexibility more likely to stay at your organization?) Quantum Workplace can help you link your program’s success to employee engagement limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 64 Workplace Well-Being CONCLUSION Driving employee engagement requires real commitment The type of commitment many employers aren’t committed enough to give But the work to create a coordinated and culturally connected program is always worth it It pays off in employee retention, performance, well-being, and health (and health costs) And it makes heroes of its committed champions Because every organization is unique – from demographics to industry to business goals to culture – it’s impossible to win with canned, cookie cutter solutions But worry not – as long as you have the right experts in your corner to help you with a customized program and also to help you link it back to your employees’ overall engagement, you can compete on culture with a great benefits package and engaged workplace About the Survey Our research panel of nearly 21,000 employees, who were also surveyed through Quantum Workplace’s Best Places to Work program, were invited to participate in a survey about health and well-being benefit preferences Nearly 2,000 employees completed the survey, representing men and women from a wide range of ages, education levels, and company sizes To develop the survey, Quantum Workplace partnered with Limeade for its expertise in leveraging health and well-being programs to increase employee engagement Results in this report leverage the respondents’ engagement profile that was determined via the Best Places to Work survey they previously completed limeade.com quantumworkplace.com 65 Workplace Well-Being ABOUT QUANTUM WORKPLACE Quantum Workplace delivers smart tools for achieving and recognizing workplace awesomeness When work is awesome, employees are engaged, clients are loyal, and business is good Quantum Workplace serves more than 5,000 organizations annually through employee engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-topeer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment Founded in 2002, Quantum Workplace makes complex data understandable, so it’s easy for organizations to take action Quantum Workplace can help you: LEARN MORE SCHEDULE A DEMO • Conduct an employee engagement survey and analyze results • Connect employee engagement to business outcomes and target areas for improvement • Understand how workplace elements, such as benefits, impact employee engagement at your organization ABOUT THE SPONSOR LEARN MORE CONTACT US Limeade is a technology company that delivers an employee engagement platform to Fortune 1000 companies We inspire people and companies to improve their health, well-being and performance, bring company culture to life and deliver the fresh insights and innovations critical to business success Headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., Limeade serves over 100 employers and top global brands Limeade can help you: • Improve employee well-being, performance, and health • Build a purposeful and engaged culture • Align personal choices with organizational goals • Simplify how users and customers experience HR limeade.com quantumworkplace.com